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Chinese workers say they are sick from computer chemicals

Stephen McDonellUpdated
Tue 26 Oct 2010, 10:00 AM AEDT

A group of Chinese workers are in hospital this morning after they were exposed to a dangerous chemical, which they say is being used in the production of Apple computers. In China, several companies making standard laptops and also touch screen devices for Apple used this chemical, leaving workers unable to walk and, in one instance, saw over 60 staff from one company hospitalized for nine months.

Transcript

TONY EASTLEY: A number of Chinese workers are in hospital this morning after they were exposed to a dangerous chemical they claim is being used in the production of Apple computers.

In China, several companies making standard laptops and also touch screen devices for Apple used this chemical, and many workers exposed to it have been left unable to walk, and, in one instance, 60 staff from just one company have been hospitalised for nine months.

China correspondent Stephen McDonell reports from the city of Suzhou, on the banks of the Yangtze River - a major centre for high-tech manufacturing.

STEPHEN MCDONELL: The No. 5 People's Hospital in Suzhou has been treating workers who breathed in vapours from the chemical N-Hexane.

According to the workers, the chemical was being used in the production of Apple products.

(worker speaking)

"At first the symptoms were pretty obvious. My hands were numb. I could hardly walk or run," one woman told us.

(another worker speaking)

"I think they knew it was poisonous to human bodies, but if they had used another chemical, our output would not have increased," said another woman. "By using N-Hexane, it was much more efficient."

We snuck into the hospital to visit a group of women who'd been working in a very small, badly-ventilated, factory.

They were finishing off Apple laptops - their job was to glue on, measure and polish Apple logos. To do this they used the chemical N-Hexane.

Soon, they started getting dizzy and feeling listless. It wasn't long before they couldn't walk properly as the chemical attacked their nervous system.

They've now been in hospital for more than half a year.

After breathing in N-Hexane, more than 60 workers from Wintek were hospitalised.

(hospitalised Wintek worker speaking)

"I am back at work but my symptoms are still with me," said one man. "My legs still hurt. This will accompany me for the rest of my life. It's very painful."

Wintek has paid its workers' hospital bills and says it has removed N-Hexane from its production lines.

It also said that if "affected people are given proper treatment they can successfully recover from N-Hexane exposure."

Apple China told the ABC that it would not confirm who its suppliers are. It did, however, say that it has now tightened its requirements on suppliers to try and prevent work-related injuries and occupational diseases.

This is Stephen McDonell in Suzhou for AM.

TONY EASTLEY: And N-Hexane is widely used in Australia, especially as an ingredient of special glues used in the roofing, shoe, and leather industries. Exposure to it can cause muscle wasting and atrophy. It can cause paralysis of the arms and legs if the proper safety precautions are not followed.

And more on this story tonight on Foreign Correspondent at 8.00pm on ABC1.